Home Exercise Programs

Home Exercise Programs

A large part of the success in a physical therapy program is doing a regular Home Exercise Program. Here are some examples of some exercises that are based on CCPT’s physical and integrative rehab programs. The audio instructions are to assist you in carrying over the instructions given with your private sessions. Please note that these are not intended for the general public unless you have cleared this with your own health practitioner.

One of the problems with a recurrence in chronic pain is that the triggers can be elusive and caused by so many life style influences. One way to calm pain or interfere with pain intensifying is to relax your nervous system (N.S.). There are many approaches for calming the N.S., but here is a very practical one.

This body scan should be used before, during and after the movements you are doing to assess any changes and to help you establish a better sensitivity to your body alignment and sense of movement. This is what sets this approach apart from other ways of training. By noticing yourself in these details, you will learn to fine-tune your movement, posture and alignment.

This home program is to supplement a postural training instruction that was given to you by your PT. Always observe your comfort, and do the exercise slowly to notice changes. The blanket used above is designed to be about 36 inches long and about 2 and half inches high, long enough for you to be able to lay your head and pelvis on fully. You need to do a before and after check of your posture on the floor to get the full value of the exercise. Noticing the changes is what makes the process work long after you are done.

Find a firm chair, preferably without arm rests. Sit with both feet in contact with the floor. Notice if your weight is even under both sit bones. Start the movement as if you are slumping. Your back will round and your shoulders will roll forward. Don’t worry, you are not practicing bad posture, instead you are awakening the joints to be able to feel your posture better so you can make the more efficient choices. Next, by pressing into the floor with both feet, lengthen your back as if you wanted to see over someone in front of you. Be sure that you are not holding your breath or straining. Now, repeat this exercise a 5-6 times. Come back to this exercise several times a day to allow your body to learn new postural habits. The posture in the lengthened position will get easier to sustain, and your joints and muscles will be better equipped to support this posture by doing this regular tune up exercise.

This exercise is a good exercise to prepare your body for twisting and rotation. The idea is to do the movement slowly enough so that you can observe how the two sides of your body are different, and how the body moves as a whole. After this is done for a few minutes, the exercise can be advanced to a stretching exercise if your therapist has directed you to do this.

This exercise is a modification of a common Yoga posture called downward dog, but is modified to not place too much pressure on the hands, and to allow for most people to do with less risk. Find a very stable counter top that is at the level you practiced this with your therapist. Start in the plank position and tip your hips back to lengthen your spine, and pause in this position for two breaths, noting that you can do this with a mild stretch and WITHOUT PAIN. Then return to the plank position. Repeat this a few times. Then ALWAYS finish in the plank position and step towards the counter to rise up.

This exercise is in three parts. The first part is to create a table top with your arms, back and legs as seen in the picture, Next, round the spine like a cat moving through all the spinal segments, making sure you are breathing. Follow with reversing the position like a smile, the back curves downward. Careful not to sag too much in the small of the low back. Repeat this 5 times. The next part is to come back to table top, pause in this position, and without moving the back, draw the belly into the spine without holding your breath for two counts, then relax the abdomen. Repeat this 5 times. The final art of this exercise is to lean down towards your heels to stretch the arms and back as if in a child’s pose position or prayer position. Rest in the position for a few breaths.